How to Pose Hands in Portraits
Sometimes the smallest things in a photo can impact the overall feel of the image.
I learned this important lesson the first time I photographed a wedding.
The grooms hands gave it all away.
On the day itself I thought the bride and groom were very relaxed an enjoying the day, but on getting the photos back I was immediately drawn to the hands of the groom. In virtually every shot they were clenched or grasping at the sleeves of his suit coat.
In showing the photos to others I found that quite a few of them noticed the same thing while others thought he looked stressed but couldn’t quite put their finger (no pun intended) on why.
I later found out that the groom was having second thoughts about what he was doing all day long. His hands told the story.
The hands and fingers are often giveaways to how the rest of the body is feeling.
How to Photograph Hands
1. When posing a subject pay particular attention to their hands and encourage your model to keep them relaxed and their fingers separated.
2. If your subject can’t seem to relax their hands - consider composing shots that don’t include the hands (head shots and upper body shots).
3. Sometimes the best thing to do with hands is to give them something to hold or do. Consider using a prop (as long as it adds to and is relevant the shot and isn’t distracting) or have them rest upon some other element in the shot (a leg, a chair etc).
4. Lastly - hands tend to look best when shot from the side. Front on shots of hands can often look quite blob like.
Do you pay attention to hands in your shots? How do you pose them? Share your tips.
Read more posts like 'How to Pose Hands in Portraits'
Digital Photography School is Digg proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache!
first of all: algo - that is one extremely cool yet oh so creepy shot of hands up there. It’s like a lesson in topography.
second: great tip. I gotta tell you I get nervous when the portrait photographer doesn’t seem to care about the details of the shot (like the hands of the subject, for example). Like all things, you have to be careful not to overload the subject with some details, though. I had a photographer make me so twitchy about licking my lips (he kept insisting we do it on every shot) that I couldn’t relax and get natural for the shot. It’s a series of trade-offs, I suppose, and the people who practice their skills get the right mixture.
The traditional method that I always use if I am about to be photographed is “hands loosely clasped in front”. Seems to stop me looking like too much of a goof ball.
THe first tip I ever got about hands in photographs wasn’t directed to me as a photographer but as one in the pictures. The Rabbi at a friend’s wedding directed me and the other grommsmen “not to fig-leaf” refering to Adam and Eve. (ie. grasping one and with the other and holding below the belt) His reasoning was that no one except the Secret Service and uptight or nervous people in weddings do that. It looks unnatural. Instead he told us to do the most uncomfortable thing in the world - place them by our sides. Oddly enough, the photos looked more relaxed and natural. Now, as a photographer, I can relate that back to my subjects. I’m glad the Rabbi was there to direct us.
When assisting a school photographer I was told always to get people seated in a formal group/class/team photo to have their hands closed in a fist and on their knees. This look so much better than having fingers pointing forward. Also I think standing people often look more natural with their hands behind their back rather than the “fig leaf” position refrred to by Chris.
For me the hands are important from the point of view of leter cropping pictures.
If you want to produce a head to waist pic from a person standing for instance, you get a truncated unsatisfactory picture if the hands are below half way down.
There are ways of keeping tne hands in the top half - arms around one another or a single person simply clasping their hands or holding something.
The main thing is to get the subject to do something that looks and feels comfortable
As a photojournalist, the hands play an important role in makeing a picture. For some unknown reason, people male and female, have a tendency to strike the “fig leaf” pose, like they are expecting to get kicked. Have them put a hand in pocket, give them something to hold and tell them why. In head shots of speakers, hands are necessary to add some power to the photo. Most of all, keep it simple and know when to shoot the frames to get the best shot. Just remember, people can all by themselves look very stupid in pictures - it’s your job to keep them from that!
Yes, yes, yes, but what happened to the marriage…?
I work with a pre-school photography company and was always told to have fingers together and not spread, it looks abnormal to me…..what is the right way?
If the person looks nervous and doesn’t know what to do with their hands, I ask them to tell me a joke, or ask them for details on what they do. Most people express with their hands and will loosen up, especially if you laugh at their jokes and show interest in what they are saying.